According to the New York Times’ July 30 report, the envoy, Robert C. O’Brien, was in the courtroom during the rapper’s trial. “The president asked me to come here and support these American citizens,” Mr. O’Brien told The Times. “I’ll be here until they come home.”

Also in the courtroom was Rocky’s mother, Renee Black, who is convinced of her son’s innocence.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, along with two members of his entourage, appeared before a judge in Sweden on their assault charge. The Harlem rapper, along with his co-defendants, Bladimir Emilio Corniel and David Tyrone Rispers, all pleaded not guilty in the case. Rocky maintains that he fought the man seen in the viral fight video in self-defense.

However, the victim, Mustafa Jafari, 19, took the stand and testified that he feared for his life. “I felt they were going to beat me to death,” he said in Persian, through an interpreter, according to CNN. The teen suffered cuts to his face, arms and hands and needed 13 stitches, said his lawyer, Magnus Stromberg. Jafari is also asking for roughly $16,000 in compensation for injuries and lost income.

Rocky is expected to testify when the trial resumes on Thursday (Aug. 1). The embattled rapper's Swedish lawyer, Slobodan Jovicic, told CNN that his client was defending himself in the attack. "We think it was self-defense, but the prosecutor has chosen to go with the injured party's version," he said.